Subscription bill service, systems and methods

ABSTRACT

A number of sets of methods, systems, and apparatuses applicable to transactions are disclosed. One set includes transaction systems configured to reconcile a transaction among multiple provider accounts or user accounts via derived object attributes and reconciliation matrices. Another set includes methods of reconciling payment of a coupon. Another set includes transaction apparatuses configured to derive object attributes from digital representations to identify purchasable items. Still another set includes methods of mitigating risk of transaction fraud.

This application is a national phase of International Application No.PCT/US13/34164, filed Mar. 27, 2013, which is a continuation-in-part ofInternational Application Number PCT/US12/66300, filed Nov. 21, 2012,which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/562,385, filed on Nov. 21, 2011. This and all other extrinsicmaterials discussed herein are incorporated by reference in theirentirety. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporatedreference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that termprovided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies andthe definition of that term in the reference does not apply.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention is transaction infrastructure technologies.

BACKGROUND

The background description includes information that may be useful inunderstanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any ofthe information provided herein is prior art or relevant to thepresently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically orimplicitly referenced is prior art.

Transaction systems provide primitive solutions for the ever growingworld of on-line transactions. Typically, existing transaction systemsprovide a single provider the ability to conduct a transaction with asingle user. However, they lack the ability to offer providers (e.g., ofservice, good, etc.) or consumers a system that can reconcile aspects ofa transaction among multiple providers or user accounts.

For example, Apple® EasyPay allows a user to make merchant (i.e.,Apple®) specific payments in its retail stores in a closed loop systemthrough the user's iTunes® account, thereby eliminating the need to waitin line at a physical counter; see URL:www.javelinstrategy.com/blog/2011/11/15/apple-iphone-easypay-mobile-payment-rollout-may-delay-nfc/.Another example includes Zoosh®, which uses ultrasound to performcertain near field transactions via two devices; see URLventurebeat.com/2011/06/19/narattes-zoosh-enables-nfc-with-just-a-speaker-and-microphone/).

As another example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0252359to Adams et al. teaches a mobile device having a motion sensing deviceand a processor configured to, among other things, recognize a movementpattern and, based upon that movement, determine a payment account fromwhich access information for the payment account is sent to atransaction terminal via an NFC device of the mobile device.

Unfortunately, known existing transaction systems apparently fail toreconcile aspects of a transaction among multiple provider accounts oruser accounts. Moreover, known existing transaction systems apparentlyfail to reconcile aspects of a transaction based at least in part onderived object attributes. Thus, there is still a need for transactionsystems capable of reconciling aspects of a transaction among multipleprovider or user accounts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The inventive subject matter provides apparatus, systems and methods inwhich one can conduct a transaction involving multiple accounts (e.g.,provider accounts or user accounts) that are involved with a payment(e.g., of cash, coupon, discount, loyalty points, etc.) or any othersuitable transaction associated to an item (e.g., good, service,subscriptions, etc.). As used herein, the term “provider” is used verybroadly to include providers of a service or good, whether real orvirtual. One aspect of the inventive subject matter is considered toinclude a transaction system comprising a recognition engine, atransaction engine, and possibly one or more device engagement engines.The recognition engine can obtain a digital representation of areal-world object and derive attributes associated with the object(e.g., time, location, color, shape, model, cost, price, availablecoupons, messages, metadata, etc.) based on recognizing the object. Atransaction engine can communicate with the recognition engine and canreconcile a transaction among multiple provider accounts or useraccounts as a function of one or more of the derived object attributes.In some preferred embodiments, the transaction involves making a paymentto one or more of the provider accounts or user accounts where thepayment relates to an item. In some embodiments, an engagement enginecan cause a computing device (e.g., cell phone, set-top box, kiosk, gameconsoles or system, etc.) to take action based on the transaction.Actions will be discussed in greater detail below.

In one aspect of the inventive subject matter, the transaction enginecan comprise a memory storing one or more reconciliation matrices. Insuch embodiments, the transaction reconciliation engine can beconfigured to associate one or more object attributes (derived by theobject recognition engine) with a recognition signature. The recognitionsignature can be stored in a signature database communicatively coupledto the transaction reconciliation engine and object recognition engine.

It is contemplated that a “recognition signature” can comprise acollection of values associated with certain attributes within aninteraction space, which can either be manually generated by a user,provider or third party, or constructed based on historical actions ofone or more users. Where a derived object attribute or attributes meet aset of criteria associated with the signature, the object attribute(s)can be associated with the signature. The criteria can comprisemandatory requirements (e.g., the presence of an attribute, a threshold,the presence of a first attribute and a second attribute, etc.) oroptional conditions (e.g., the presence of a first attribute or a secondattribute, etc.).

The transaction recognition engine can also be configured to map arecognition signature to a plurality of transaction accounts via one ormore reconciliation matrices in a memory.

As used herein, the term “reconciliation matrix” can comprise analgorithm, a lookup table, or any other suitable rules set or datastructure that can be utilized in mapping a recognition signature to oneor more accounts.

Where, inter alia, the reconciliation matrix is utilized in mapping arecognition signature to multiple accounts, it is contemplated that thetransaction reconciliation engine can be configured to reconcile atransaction among the multiple accounts.

From a methods perspective, a transaction can be initiated via a mobiledevice or other computing device. A mobile device can obtain a digitalrepresentation of a real-world object via a sensor. The digitalrepresentation can be transmitted by the mobile device to an objectrecognition engine configured to recognize the real world object andderive one or more attributes of the object. The mobile device can causevarious actions to be performed by a transaction reconciliation engine,which can optionally be installed in the mobile device. Among theactions that can be performed by the transaction reconciliation engineare (a) associating an object attribute with a recognition signature,(b) mapping the signature to one or more transaction accounts via areconciliation matrix, and (c) reconciling a transaction related to anitem associated with the real-world object among the accounts.

Upon completion of the transaction, the mobile device can receive anotification associated with the complete transaction. It iscontemplated that a notification can be received or presented to a userin any commercially suitable manner, e.g., via an email, a pushnotification, etc.

Another aspect of the inventive subject matter includes a method ofreconciling payment of a coupon. Contemplated methods include using arecognition engine, possibly deployed on a mobile cell phone or othercomputing device, to recognize a real-world object related to apurchasable item. The purchasable item could be the same item as thereal-world object (e.g., a product on a store shelf) or tangentiallyrelated (e.g., a ticket of a movie displayed in on a movie poster). Themethod can further include creating a virtual coupon based on attributesderived from a digital representation of the real-world object where thedigital representation could comprise image data, sound data,non-visible data, signals, or other modal types of data. Another stepcan include activating the virtual coupon upon a triggering eventgenerated by a mobile device, a cell phone for example. The triggeringevent could be generated automatically, “zero touch” (e.g., via nearfield communications, recognition of an object, etc.), or manually viaone, two or more user interactions with a user interface. With zerotouch generation of a triggering event, it is contemplated that a devicecan be configured to recognize objects located as far as 1, 5, 10, 20,50, 100 or even 1000 or more feet away. Less clicks or user interfaceinteractions can be preferable over a larger number of interactions. Themobile device, or other electronic device involved in the transaction,can reconcile the transaction among two or more electronic accountsrelating to the purchase of the purchasable item. For example, a couponvendor account can be charged according to terms of the virtual coupon,a vendor account can be credited with payment, a consumer's account canbe charged according to terms of the virtual coupon, or a consumer'saccount can be credited according to terms of the transaction or virtualcoupon. In some embodiments, the accounts can be third party accountsassociated with various loyalty programs possibly participating in aloyalty exchange system where one account currency (e.g., frequent flyermiles, free gasoline points, etc.) can be converted to another (e.g.,virtual gold in an on-line game, mobile phone minutes, etc.) accordingto terms of a virtual coupon.

Yet another aspect of the inventive subject matter can include atransaction apparatus (e.g., cell phone, point of sales device,computer, server, kiosk, game console, etc.) that can include a sensorinterface through which the apparatus can acquire a digitalrepresentation of a real-world object or scene having the object.Example sensor interfaces could include an actual sensor (e.g., GPS,microphone, camera, accelerometer, bio-metric, etc.), a hardwareinterface to a sensor platform (e.g., serial interface, parallelinterface, network interface, USB, etc.), or even a set of applicationprogram interfaces (APIs) capable of making local or remote procedurecall. The transaction apparatus can also include a recognition modulecommunicatively coupled with the sensor interface where the recognitionmodule derives one or more object attributes from the digitalrepresentation and uses the object attributes to identify a purchasableitem (e.g., the real-world object, a good, a product, a service, asubscription, etc.). Contemplated apparatus can further comprise avirtual coupon generator configured to generate a virtual couponassociated with the purchasable item as a function of the objectattributes or other information available (e.g., customer ID, phonenumber, vendor ID, merchant ID, account numbers, prior consumertransactions, prior consumer scans, prior consumer interactions, etc.).The transaction apparatus can further include a transaction interfaceconfigured to electronically engage, directly or indirectly, one or moreaccounts possibly over a network. The transaction interface allows theapparatus to reconcile an account based on a payment for the purchasableitem and based on use or authentication of the virtual coupon. Inespecially preferred embodiments, a user account is credited forpurchasing the item. One especially preferred embodiment includes amobile phone operating as the transaction apparatus where the virtualcoupon is specifically generated according to a location and time.

Still another aspect of the inventive subject matter includes a methodof mitigating risk of transaction fraud associated with a coupon. Themethod includes providing a virtual coupon on a mobile device (e.g.,cell phone, vehicle, car, airplane, mobile kiosk, point of sales device,etc.) where the coupon relates to a purchasable item, possiblyidentified from object attributes derived from a digital representationof a scene. The virtual coupon can be provided via a text message, anemail, a pop up, or any other commercially suitable method. The mobiledevice can further engage in an electronic transaction locally or evenover a network with one or more account servers. The device can furtherallow the user to select at least one target account to be involved inthe transaction from multiple accounts available for use with thetransaction. The method can further include authenticating thetransaction as a function of transaction attributes derived by themobile device, possibly from the digital representation (e.g., location,time, make, model, consumer ID, device ID, etc.), as a function of theuser selected target account, as a function of virtual couponproperties, or other factors. In more preferred embodiments, the methodincludes crediting the target account according to the terms of thevirtual coupon. For example, a user might purchase a television at fullprice and might receive a virtual coupon from the televisionmanufacturer that allows the user an option to credit a number of milesto a frequently flyer account or to credit their cell phone account.

Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventivesubject matter will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanyingdrawing figures in which like numerals represent like components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an overall ecosystem of a transaction system of theinventive subject matter.

FIG. 2 shows an object recognition engine deriving attributes related toa real world object.

FIG. 3 shows a transaction reconciliation engine reconciling atransaction among multiple accounts.

FIG. 4A shows an embodiment of the inventive subject matter as embodiedin a mobile device application.

FIG. 4B shows an embodiment of a transaction system of the inventivesubject matter.

FIG. 4C is a flowchart showing a method of causing a transactionreconciliation via a mobile device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a method of reconciling a payment of acoupon.

FIG. 6 shows a transaction apparatus of the inventive subject matter.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of a method of mitigating a risk of transactionfraud.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following discussion provides many example embodiments of theinventive subject matter. Although each embodiment represents a singlecombination of inventive elements, the inventive subject matter isconsidered to include all possible combinations of the disclosedelements. Thus if one embodiment comprises elements A, B, and C, and asecond embodiment comprises elements B and D, then the inventive subjectmatter is also considered to include other remaining combinations of A,B, C, or D, even if not explicitly disclosed.

It should be noted that while the following description is drawn to acomputer/server based transaction/recognition systems, variousalternative configurations are also deemed to represent computingdevices including servers, interfaces, systems, databases, agents,peers, engines, controllers, or other types of computing devicesoperating individually or collectively. One should appreciate thecomputing devices comprise a processor configured to or programmed toexecute software instructions stored on a tangible, non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium (e.g., hard drive, solid state drive,RAM, flash, ROM, etc.). The software instructions preferably configurethe computing device to provide the roles, responsibilities, or otherfunctionality as discussed below with respect to the disclosedapparatus. In especially preferred embodiments, the various servers,systems, databases, or interfaces exchange data using standardizedprotocols or algorithms, possibly based on HTTP, HTTPS, AES,public-private key exchanges, web service APIs, known financialtransaction protocols, or other electronic information exchangingmethods. Data exchanges preferably are conducted over a packet-switchednetwork, the Internet, LAN, WAN, VPN, or other type of packet switchednetwork.

One should appreciate that the disclosed techniques provide manyadvantageous technical effects including providing an infrastructurecapable of generating networked signals that cause remote devices toengage in reconciling accounts among one or more provider or useraccounts.

As used herein, and unless the context dictates otherwise, the term“coupled to” is intended to include both direct coupling (in which twoelements that are coupled to each other contact each other) and indirectcoupling (in which at least one additional element is located betweenthe two elements). Therefore, the terms “coupled to” and “coupled with”are used synonymously. Within this document, “coupled with” can alsomean “communicatively coupled with”, possibly over a network.

As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow,the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes plural reference unless thecontext clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the descriptionherein, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the contextclearly dictates otherwise.

Unless the context dictates the contrary, all ranges set forth hereinshould be interpreted as being inclusive of their endpoints, andopen-ended ranges should be interpreted to include commerciallypractical values. Similarly, all lists of values should be considered asinclusive of intermediate values unless the context indicates thecontrary.

It is contemplated that the inventive subject matter described hereincan leverage one or more techniques, including object recognitiontechniques, disclosed in the following co-owned applications: U.S.provisional application No. 60/246,295 filed Nov. 6, 2000; U.S.provisional application No. 60/317,521 filed Sep. 5, 2001; U.S.application Ser. No. 11/510,009 titled “Interactivity Via Mobile ImageRecognition” filed on Aug. 25, 2006; U.S. application Ser. No.12/505,726 titled “Interactivity with a Mixed Reality” filed on Jul. 20,2009; U.S. application Ser. No. 13/005,716 titled “Data Capture andIdentification System and Process” filed on Jan. 13, 2011; U.S.application Ser. No. 13/037,317 titled “Image Capture and IdentificationSystem and Process” filed on Feb. 28, 2011; and U.S. application Ser.No. 13/037,330 titled “Object Information Derived from Object Images”filed on Feb. 28, 2011. For example, the inventive subject matter canutilize one or more of the techniques for presenting information such asInternet content to a user described in U.S. application Ser. No.13/005,726.

FIG. 1 shows an overall ecosystem of a transaction system of theinventive subject matter. Transaction system 100 (e.g., a subscriptionservice, etc.) comprises an object recognition engine 110, transactionreconciliation engine 120, engagement engine 130, and computing device140.

Object recognition engine 110 is configured to recognize a real-worldobject and derive object attributes of the object. The “real-worldobject” can comprise any existing still or moving object, including forexample, a poster, a magazine, a brochure, a billboard sign, a product,a purchasable product, a vehicle, a storefront, a food item, a logo, atrademark, an image on a screen (e.g., television or computer screen,etc.), a person providing a service, a person, an image of a good orservice (e.g., an image in printed media, non-printed media, an image ofan animated object, an image of an inanimate object, etc.), a streetsign, a 2D object, a 3D object, a time-varying object (i.e., 4D object),or a service embodied in a tangible medium. In some preferredembodiments, the real-world object is related to a purchasable productor service. The object attributes can comprise any quality or feature ofan object, including for example, an absolute time, a relative time, aresponse time, a location, a relative position or orientation, a color,a size, a quantity, a quality, a material, an availability, adepreciation rate, an appreciation rate, a supply relative to a demand,a shape, a make, a model, a cost, an available coupon, a message,metadata, and a price. Additional details regarding object recognitionengines will be provided in the description of FIG. 2.

Transaction reconciliation engine 120 can be communicatively coupled toobject recognition engine 110 and configured to reconcile a transactionamongst two or more provider accounts or user accounts as a function ofthe attributes derived by object recognition engine 110. The transactioncan include, among other things, a purchase, a download, an order, apre-order, a reservation, a down payment, a pre-payment, a partialpre-payment, reconciling a coupon among at least one of a provideraccount associated with the transaction and a user account, or any othersuitable transaction. Reconciling a coupon can include, among otherthings, at least one of the following steps: (1) identification of acoupon to be generated; (2) generation of a coupon; (3) providing acoupon to a user; (4) a user receiving a coupon; (5) a user presentingthe coupon to a provider or point-of-sale terminal (e.g., via a text,email, a closeness of a device to a point of sale device, a presentingof a displayed virtual coupon, a presenting of a code or passwordassociated with the virtual coupon, etc.); and (6) reconciling at leastone account (e.g., user, provider, etc.) via a credit, debit, update,notification, etc.

In some embodiments, the transaction can involve some sort of payment toat least two different accounts, for the purpose of obtaining a good,product, service, or subscription. Moreover, the transaction can becompleted in no more than 10, 5, 3, or even 2 or less physicalinteractions. For example, it is contemplated that an end user cancapture an image of a real world object via a single click of a device,and that this single click can initiate some or all of the steps of atransaction related to the object, which can include reconciliation of acoupon. It is also contemplated that the transaction can occurautomatically based on a real-time automatic ambient collection ofsensor data forming a digital representation of the real-world objectwithout requiring the end user to initiate the transaction. For example,the digital representation of the real-world object can automatically becompared with objects or items within a database. This database can belocated in a server located within the device collecting sensor data, aremote server, or any combination thereof. Additional details regardingtransaction reconciliation engines and the process of reconciling atransaction will be provided in the description of FIG. 3.

Engagement engine 130 is communicatively coupled to object recognitionengine 110, transaction engine 120 and computing device 140, and isconfigured to cause computing device 140 to take one or more actions asa function of a transaction. All commercially suitable computing devicesare contemplated, including for example, a mobile phone, a gamingconsole or system (including 3-D gaming consoles and systems), a localserver, a remote server, a general purpose computer, a tablet, a kiosk,an electronic device, a set-top box, a vehicle, or any othercommercially suitable device. Examples of actions that can be caused byengagement engine 130 include, among other things: (1) a credit or adebit where the computing device comprises a bank server; (2) aninitiation of a software process, posting data, reading data, logging onor off an account, registering an account, interacting with a game wherethe computing device comprises any one of several suitable computingdevices; (3) an initiation of a transaction where the computing devicecomprises a point-of-sale device; or (4) making a phone call (e.g., to adoctor, store, etc.) where the computing device comprises telephonycapabilities.

One contemplated type of transaction system can be configured to modifya subscription bill from a service or product provider (e.g., a utilityprovider, a magazine subscription provider, etc.). Modifying asubscription bill can include, among other things, at least one of adeletion of a charge, a reduction of a charge, an increase of a charge,an overall percentage discount, a credit, a free offer, a reduced priceoffer, or a coupon for a service or a good. The system can establish auniversal framework of a virtual loyalty card usable by multipleproviders based on object recognition of a real world object. Arecognition engine of such systems can recognize the object, deriveobject attributes associated with the object, and recognize an ID of avirtual coupon in the process of recognition of both the object and ofthe virtual coupon of the real world object. The recognition engine canthen engage a transaction engine to initiate a transaction associatedwith the object (e.g., a purchase of the object, etc.), and redeem thecoupon by crediting the provider's monthly statement, or other provideror user account. A final reconciliation among providers can occur on aweekly basis, monthly basis, yearly basis, one-time basis, or any otherrecurring or non-recurring time period.

For example, a user can be assigned a single loyalty ID, loyalty card,or account number. When the user interacts with an object such as aposter via his mobile phone, he can be provided with a link to a websiteselling the poster. Based on at least one of the user's clicking on thelink, saving the link, or making a purchase at a website associated withthe link, a credit can be made to a loyalty account associated with thelink or website. If the same user interacts with an image of Disneyland,and is automatically redirected to a website where the user purchasesairplane tickets to Florida, a credit can automatically be made to aloyalty account associated with the airline or a credit card used topurchase the airplane tickets (e.g., with frequent flyer miles, etc.).

Coupon redemption by providers can occur upon confirmation of paymenteven before a payment is received (e.g., during the period wherein acredit card payment has been authorized but funds have not yet beenreceived by the provider(s)). One should appreciate the reconciliationcan occur based on a recognition of the real world object, generation ofvirtual coupon, entering into virtual loyalty card, and a purchase orredemption being complete in less than 2 steps. These steps can eachoccur on a single mobile device (or multiple devices), in real orsubstantially real time in the real world. In some embodiments thereconciliation can occur in real or substantially real time throughcollection of ambient sensor data or at a point of sales. Thus, variousprovider and user accounts can be credited or debited based on theirloyalty activity.

An additional aspect of the inventive subject matter includes a systemto allow users to pay a provider to receive a service (e.g., telephone,utility, magazine or newspaper subscription, car lease etc,) byredemption of coupons obtained via a purchase of real world objects orservices different from the first service. This can be achieved byutilizing a recognition and engagement engine in at least one of adevice and a server. For example, a user who purchases a telephone atAT&T™ can be sent a coupon, via text or email, which the user can redeemto receive a free month of telephone service through Verizon™.

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of an object recognition engine of theinventive subject matter that is configured to obtain a digitalrepresentation of a real-world object and derive attributes associatedwith the object. In this example, real world object 210 isrepresentative of both a product and a service, and is an image of acar. Real world object 210 is representative a product insofar as anitem associated with the object (e.g., the car, a car part, etc.) can bepurchased, leased, physically destroyed, enhanced or other modified, orrented. Real world object 210 further is representative of a serviceinsofar as it is associated with a driving or other service (e.g., ataxi service, limousine service, etc.).

Object recognition engine 200 comprises a derivation engine 220 that isconfigured to derive one or more object attributes (e.g., 221, 222, and223) of real world object 210. Derivation engine 220 can be configuredto derive 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, or even 100 or more object attributesfor every real world object it scans or recognizes. The derivedattributes can be organized hierarchically by class, category, or evendimensions within an interaction space. As discussed above, the objectattributes (e.g., 221, 222, and 223) can include, among other things, anabsolute time, a relative time, a response time, a location, a relativeposition or orientation, a color, a size, a quantity, a quality, amaterial, an availability, a depreciation rate, an appreciation rate, asupply relative to a demand, a shape, a make, a model, a cost, anavailable coupon, a message, metadata, and a price.

Some or all of the derived attributes can be derived from visible data,and others derived from non-visible data. It is also contemplated that asingle attribute can be derived from both visible and non-visible data.Examples of visible data include, for example, digital representationsof a size, a color, a shape, a location, a brightness, a material, ashadow, a relative size, a relative color, a relative shape, a relativelocation, or a relative brightness. Examples of non-visible datainclude, for example, digital representations of a sound, texture,touch, sensed emotion, taste or smell.

FIG. 3 shows a transaction reconciliation engine of the inventivesubject matter that is configured to reconcile a transaction related toa real world object or an item associated with the real world object. Asused herein, an “item associated with a real world object” can comprisea good, product, subscription, real coupon, virtual coupon, or a service(e.g., a utility, reservation, game, etc.). The transaction isreconciled among a plurality of accounts as a function of one or more ofthe attributes derived by an object recognition engine.

Item 300 is a car associated with object 210, which is an image of a carvery similar to item 300. User 310 captures a digital representation ofobject 210 via a camera enabled mobile phone. Object recognition engine220 obtains the digital representation captured by user 310, recognizesobject 210 as a real world object, and derives various attributesthereof, including a make, model, year of manufacture, and color ofobject 210. Object recognition engine 220 then causes informationrelated to item 300 to be presented to the user, either via the mobilephone used to capture the digital representation or a remote device. Theinformation related to item 300 can be a video showing item 300, anaccident history, a repair history, miles driven, a location, a price,an availability, and a transaction link (e.g., a link to a website wherethe item can be purchased).

In this example, user 310 clicks on a link to a website where the itemcan be purchased, and engages in a transaction 330 that comprises apayment to four accounts, 321, 322, 323 and 324, related to item 300.This payment to the four accounts can be a lump or partial payment, andcan be direct or indirect. For example, a user can make a lump (i.e.complete) or partial payment indirectly via a third party collector. Alump payment can be distributed amongst the various accounts, while apartial payment can be distributed to a specific account, or two or moreaccounts. It is also contemplated that the user can also make lump orpartial payments directly to the accounts themselves. A direct paymentcan be a payment between a consumer and a provider, which is limited tothe inclusion of two or more of the following: entities associated withthe user account; entities associated with the provider account; the useof a transaction system of the inventive subject matter; and transactionreconciliation engine of the inventive subject matter. An indirectpayment can comprise any other payment and can include a third partyentity.

When user 310 purchases item 300 via the website, user 310 provides useraccount information to transaction reconciliation engine 320, eitherdirectly or via a third party payment processor (not shown). This useraccount information can include, for example, at least one of a name,address, expiration date, login username, login password, consumer IDassociated with an application, account number, a name of a financialestablishment, a type of account (e.g., Visa™, Mastercard™, Discover™,American Express™, etc.), or a confirmation of a payment orauthorization of a payment made by a remote server or third party.

Upon at least one of the following: receipt of user account information;confirmation of correctness or completeness of user account information;processing a payment associated with user account information;authorization of a payment associated with user account information; andreceipt of a payment associated with user account information,transaction reconciliation engine 320 can reconcile the transactionamong accounts 321, 322, 323, and 324.

The following use case describes a reconciliation of a payment by theembodiment in FIG. 3. User 310 makes a payment to a third party paymentprocessor (not shown) of $10,000 USD for the purchase of item 300according to the information provided via object recognition engine 220.To make this payment, user 310 provides the third party paymentprocessor with a credit card authorization form approving the processingof a $10,000 USD payment. The third party payment processor processesthe payment and provides a confirmation of the payment to transactionreconciliation engine 320. Transaction reconciliation engine 320 thenreconciles the transaction among accounts 321, 322, 323, and 324 bydistributing the payment amongst them. Account 321 is associated withthe previous owner of item 300, who receives a payment of 60% ($6,000USD). Account 322 is associated with the car dealership storing item300, who receives a payment of 20% ($2,000 USD). Account 323 isassociated with a magazine who has been advertising item 300 for sale,who receives a payment of 10% ($1,000 USD). Account 324 is associatedwith the host of transaction reconciliation engine 320 or the system itcomposes, who receives a payment of 10% ($1,000 USD). In this manner,transaction reconciliation engine 320 allows users to pay multipleentities via a single payment.

It is also contemplated that in some embodiments, the transactionreconciliation engine can perform some or all of the functions of athird party payment processor. Thus, transaction reconciliation engine320 can also allow providers to receive their portions of a paymentefficiently and immediately without having to transact directly withuser 310.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4A, a Software Developer Kit (SDK)465 can be provided to developers of client-side applications (e.g.,software, cell phone apps, cloud-based services, etc.). SDK allowdevelopers to configure mobile devices (e.g., 400) to recognize realworld 3D objects (e.g., 410, 411 and 412) in real-time based oncomparing imagery captured by a device camera with a database (e.g.,425) of images (e.g., 435, 436, and 437) stored in the device. This caneliminate the latency involved in sending images to the server and thuscan enable real-time identification of objects within the camera fieldof view as a user waves the device across his environment. This modealso eliminates the need for a user to “snap” an image since recognitionis operating continuously in the mobile device, thus allowing a user toengage in a transaction without requiring the user to take actions via auser interface. Preferably the user can conduct a transaction via a userinterface (e.g., 445) with no more than three or two user interfaceinteractions, more preferably no more than one user interfaceinteraction, or yet more preferably automatically without any userinterface interactions. Example techniques that can be deployed in arecognition module include SLAM, vSLAM, SIFT, BRISK, VIPR, or othertechniques.

On the client-side, image recognition services also can providereal-time tracking and augmented reality overlays on identified objects.These augmented reality overlays can comprise 2D content (e.g., HTML) or3D animated models. In either case, the augmented reality overlays canbe aligned with or track the recognized object, in real-time, in themobile device screen. The overlay content can be accessed via network orcan be resident in the handset to minimize latency. In some embodimentsthe overlay can include a virtual coupon constructed, possibly inreal-time. In some embodiments the overlay can include an advertisement,informational text, link to a website, or any other commerciallysuitable overlay.

The client-side image recognition services or modules can also providereal-time data describing the relative position or orientation of atracked object. The position or orientation of objects 410-412 can bepresented relative to the user, relative to mobile device 400, relativeto each other, or according to other desired formats.

The client-side recognition technology can be optimized to produce asmooth and robust user experience. For example, on an iPhone® 4, theApplicant's object recognition system is able to operate easily at arate of 10 video frames per second, where post-recognition augmentedreality object tracking is able to operate at 30 frames per second.

Images in the client-side database can have an average size ofapproximately 30 KB. A typical smart-phone can therefore accommodate adatabase of thousands of images.

Several options are available for loading and updating the client-sidedatabase. This includes: “User Pull”, wherein the user initiates adatabase update by performing an action such as checking in to a retailstore, selecting a product category, and so forth. A client app, via theSDK 465, then downloads images related to the user's action from the SDKserver 475; and “Automatic Push”, wherein the SDK server 475automatically sends database updates to the app 485, based on any set ofdesired conditions, e.g. the user's location, time, actions taken withinan app, local deals, coupons, or other promotions. If the database isrunning out of storage space, the application can be configured toautomatically delete images or data from the database, preferably basedon a prioritized basis (discussed further below).

In addition to server-side and client-side image recognition, theplatform can also support a hybrid mode in which initial imagerecognition is performed by a server but augmented reality processing isperformed by the client. This hybrid mode enables use of a virtuallyunlimited database size and eliminates the need to update theclient-side database, while providing for augmented reality. This hybridmode can cause initial delay of a few seconds between capturing adigital representation of a scene and the start of the augmented realityexperience. During that delay the initial image is sent to the server,analyzed, and the augmented reality content can be sent to the client.

The client-side image recognition SDK can provide direct programmaticaccess to all object recognition and tracking functions (e.g., vSLAM,VIPR, SIFT, GPS information, time stamps, etc.). The SDK can include acomplete detailed function library, for use by developers familiar withimage recognition, and a simplified function library that is useful forthose without an image recognition background.

The client SDK can also include support for the Unity® game developmentenvironment. 3D models developed in that environment are compatible withthe augmented reality functionality in the SDK.

Example SDK Use Cases

The following use cases provide various examples of some aspects of someembodiments of the inventive subject matter.

Merchant and Consumer Applications for Redeeming a Coupon

In some embodiments, a merchant or other provider can utilize a merchantapplication developed via an SDK. A transaction system associated withthe merchant can have certain templates, which the merchant canprovision with pricing and coupons or other forms of benefits. Themerchant can open the merchant application, log in with his or hermerchant ID (which can be set up through a third party), and scan one ormore objects by capturing an image, scanning a barcode or other symbol,via near field communications, etc. The merchant can also provision thesystem or application (if there are templates), or simply input pricingand coupon/benefits information, which can be saved to the system.

From a user perspective, the user can walk into the merchant's store andengage the system by opening a consumer application developed via anSDK. The user can log in to the consumer application with his or herconsumer ID (e.g., account number, loyalty card number, etc.) and scanitems to view coupons/savings. The consumer can select a coupon orsaving, take an item associated with the coupon to a merchant checkoutcounter or person and redeem the coupon.

When a merchant is presented with a coupon, the merchant can open theapplication and log in with his or her merchant ID. The merchant canobtain a phone number or other information associated with the consumerand input it into the application. It is contemplated that the merchantwill be able to view the coupons selected by the consumer in themerchant's application. The merchant can apply the coupon selected usingvarious methods. First, the user can apply the coupon within themerchant application if POS is enabled and the consumer is set up forpayment (e.g., via ClearXchange™). The merchant can receive confirmationof payment processing and obtain an electronic receipt, including amerchant service charge, if any. Second, the merchant can apply couponsto the consumer bill manually with his or her existing payment system.Third, the merchant can enter the total charge to an existing paymentsystem and savings associated with the coupon(s) can be applied to theconsumer's mobile phone carrier phone bill (e.g., Verizon™, AT&T™,etc.). The consumer can receive a text, app, or email notification thatthe coupon(s) were applied, along with what payment option was used. Themerchant and consumer can have access to all transaction online,including details of coupons/savings received, and via which method(s),among other things.

Consumer Identification, Interests and Recommendations

A consumer utilizing a transaction system of the inventive subjectmatter (e.g., a SDK generated application installed in his mobiledevice) can obtain various recommendations, coupons, etc. based onobjects or items associated with the consumer. It is contemplated thatsystems of the inventive subject matter can achieve at least one of thefollowing: (1) identify a consumer, (2) identify what objects with whichthe consumer interacts or transacts, or (3) identify what objects anditems would be of interest to the consumer.

The following use case shows some of the benefits the system can providea consumer walking through a shopping center. Prior to entering theshopping center, the user can open up the consumer application and login using his unique consumer ID and possibly a password. The system willidentify the consumer and begin to store and prioritize data associatedwith the consumer.

For example, when a user walks into a specific store, sensor data canautomatically be acquired and an interest in the store can be identifiedby the system. This identification can be based on one or more of thefollowing, among other things: a recognition that the consumer enteredthe store; the amount of time the consumer spent in the store, thenumber of items purchased in the store; or the amount of money spent inthe store.

The prioritization of actions or items based on acquired data can bebased upon any suitable scoring or ranking system, which can bedetermined by a user of a device, a transaction system manager, or anSDK of the inventive subject matter. For example: a user can assigncertain values to certain types of actions associated with an item(e.g., a download of a song can be worth 2 points being assigned to themusician, while a purchase of a physical product can be worth 4 pointsbeing assigned to a person associated with the product, etc.); atransaction system manager can assign a range of scores that determine alevel of interest (e.g., basic level of interest between 1-10, moderatelevel of interest between 11-20, special level of interest between21-30, superior level of interest between 31-40, etc.), and an SDK canmodify the user assigned values of certain types of actions or databased on user activity.

One possible scenario where an SDK can modify the user assigned value ofan action can be where a user assigns a high value to an action (e.g.,4), but then repeatedly declines offers presented to the user based onitems associated with the action. In such a scenario, the SDK couldlower the value assigned to the action (e.g., to 2).

For example, when a consumer walks by a movie advertisement in thestore, the movie advertisement can automatically be scanned, and sensordata automatically obtained. The system can then identify that the movieis of the consumer's basic level of interest and prioritize the movieposter accordingly. Based at least in part on the priority given to themovie poster, the user's device can present information or options tothe user (e.g., to purchase movie tickets, download a trailer, etc.), orinitiate transactions related to the movie poster.

This identification of the movie as being of the consumer's basic levelof interest can be based on a score of, for example, between 1-10 (e.g.,8) being associated with a director of the film. The system can alsopossibly recognize an actor, director, producer, filming location, orany other feature of the movie advertised and prioritize those featuresaccordingly. If an actor in the poster is then recognized as being ofthe consumer's higher level of interest, it is contemplated that thescores of two identified objects of interest can be averaged. Thus, ifthe actor is recognized as being of the consumer's moderate level ofinterest (e.g., score between 11-20), a special level of interest (e.g.,score between 21-30), or a superior level of interest (e.g., scorebetween 31-40), then the average of the scores can be used to determinea level of interest of the movie.

Alternatively or additionally to prioritization based on features of theobject, it is also contemplated that a scoring or ranking system can beassociated with actions of a user, and that these actions can be used todetermine a type of desired transaction. For example, it is contemplatedthat a scoring or ranking system can be set in place that recognizesthat the consumer wishes to initiate a certain type or types oftransactions with the movie advertisement based on the consumercapturing an image of the object, or simply standing in front of theadvertisement for a specified threshold time (e.g., 2, 5, 10, 15, oreven 20 or more seconds). These actions of a user can be used torecognize a level of interest in the object (e.g., basic, moderate,special, superior, etc.). The consumer can then be provided with a linkto a website that provides information related to the movie (e.g., showtimes, location of a DVD in the store itself, etc.) or allows theconsumer to purchase movie tickets, DVD, movie poster, or soundtrack.

If the consumer chooses to in fact engage in a transaction (e.g.,downloading a trailor, etc.) associated with the object by clicking onthis link, the system can identify that a transaction related to themovie occurred and assign a higher priority to the movie than othermovies where an advertisement was photographed, but where no subsequenttransaction related to the advertised movie tickets was made. If theconsumer chooses to engage in a further transaction related to theobject (e.g., purchase the movie tickets, etc.), then the movie can begiven an ever higher priority based and assigned an even level ofinterest.

As shown above, it is contemplated that based on the informationrecognized, stored or prioritized by the system, the system couldprovide a recommendation, coupon, or other information related to realworld objects that have not yet been scanned or captured by theconsumer. In some embodiments of the inventive subject matter, thescoring, ranking or prioritization of actions, objects or otherinformation can be done in a manner where users are grouped based on ademographic, and an action of a user within that group can affect thescoring, ranking of prioritization associated with the some members of,or even the entire demographic.

As yet another example, where a class of goods or services, or aspecific brand or type of goods or services is purchased by the consumerwith increased frequency, those classes, brands or types of goods orservices can be assigned a higher priority than those where fewertransactions occurred. Moreover, the system can identify one or morecommon attributes of objects that were scanned, captured, or purchasedby a user and provide recommendations, coupons or information based onthose attributes. Identifying the common attributes can allow the systemto identify the interests and intent profile of the consumer.

It is also contemplated that the system provider can charge a fee toproviders whose goods or services are mentioned in a recommendation,coupon, or other information provided to the consumer.

Once the system has identified, stored or prioritized the objects orattributes of interest to the consumer in a database associated with thesystem, it is contemplated that a transaction can occur automaticallybased on real time or substantially real time automatic ambientcollection of sensor data forming a digital representation of thereal-world object without requiring the end user to initiate thetransaction. For example, when the user passes by Dodgers™ stadium, amobile device carried by the user can automatically open the team'sofficial website in an Internet browser based on stored data indicatingan interest in baseball team websites.

In some contemplated embodiments, a system can be configured to identifya consumer based on location data or height data (e.g., a height of theuser, location of a device relative to the ground, location of a deviceby street, city or state, etc.) obtained via a consumer device, objectsscanned, objects with which the consumer interacts or transacts inrelation to, or any combination thereof. For example, a consumercarrying a consumer mobile device may open an SDK generated applicationat any time. Regardless of whether the consumer enters a consumer ID,the device can begin scanning the objects within its field of view andallow the consumer to interact or transact in relation to the objectsscanned. If the consumer has logged in, the consumer can beauthenticated based on at least one of the location data, height data,scans, interactions or transactions. If the consumer has not logged in,the consumer can be identified based on at least one of the locationdata, height data, scans, interactions or transactions, therebyeliminating the need to log in manually.

FIG. 4B presents another possible embodiment of a transaction system ofthe inventive subject matter. Transaction system 4000 comprises anobject recognition engine 4010, which is configured to recognize areal-world object and derive one or more object attributes of the objectvia derivation engine 4015.

As previously discussed, it is contemplated that the inventive subjectmatter described herein can leverage one or more techniques disclosed,possibly including object recognition techniques, in the followingco-owned applications: U.S. provisional application No. 60/246,295 filedNov. 6, 2000; U.S. provisional application No. 60/317,521 filed Sep. 5,2001; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/510,009 titled “Interactivity ViaMobile Image Recognition” filed on Aug. 25, 2006; U.S. application Ser.No. 12/505,726 titled “Interactivity with a Mixed Reality” filed on Jul.20, 2009; U.S. application Ser. No. 13/005,716 titled “Data Capture andIdentification System and Process” filed on Jan. 13, 2011; U.S.application Ser. No. 13/037,317 titled “Image Capture and IdentificationSystem and Process” filed on Feb. 28, 2011; and U.S. application Ser.No. 13/037,330 titled “Object Information Derived from Object Images”filed on Feb. 28, 2011. For example, the inventive subject matter canutilize one or more of the techniques for presenting information such asInternet content to a user described in U.S. application Ser. No.13/005,726.

The object recognition engine can transmit one or more of the derivedobject attributes 4016 to transaction reconciliation engine 4020.Transaction reconciliation engine 4020 comprises a memory 4021 storingone or more reconciliation matrices 4023. Transaction reconciliationengine 4020 is configured to perform many actions including, among otherthings, associating an object attribute with a recognition signature(e.g., 4036, 4037, etc.), mapping the recognition signature to one ormore accounts via the reconciliation matrix, and reconciling atransaction among the accounts. One should appreciate that the disclosedapproach seeks to map the derived object attributes to reconciliationaccounts without requiring an intermediary look-up of the recognizedobject. In fact, the disclosed approach lacks any requirement torecognize an object at all.

In order to associate object attribute(s) with a recognition signature,the transaction reconciliation engine 4020 can compare the attribute(s)with recognition signatures 4036 and 4037, which can be stored insignature database 4035. It is contemplated that an association betweenan object attribute or attributes and a recognition signature (e.g.,4036, 4037, etc.) can occur when certain parameters are met (e.g., athreshold match score, a complete match, a partial match, etc.). Oneshould appreciate that recognition signatures 4036 and 4037 can bedefined within the same attribute namespace or valuespace as used toderive object attributes. For example, the attributes space couldinclude SIFT features; audio amplitudes, frequencies, envelopes, orphases; position; orientation; location; context; or other attributes.

Recognition signatures can comprise a collection of values associatedwith certain attributes, and can be generated in a number of ways. Allcommercially suitable digital signature schemes are contemplated. Asuitable technique that could be adapted for use with the inventivesubject matter includes those disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 7,650,616 toLee.

A signature can be represented in a number of ways including, forexample, as an N-tuple, scalar, vector or matrix having n-dimensions ofrelevance (where n can equal 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 dimensions in arecognition space, etc.). It is contemplated that a key value (e.g.,hash value, etc.) can be generated from the values associated with eachattribute of a signature. These key values can be used to query a hashtable or other reconciliation matrix to map a recognition signature toone or more accounts.

One technique for generating a recognition signature can comprise amanual input into recognition signature generator 4065.

For example, a system manager or other user can generate a recognitionsignature to be mapped to both a Costco™ account and a user's Costco™American Express™ card by including values representative of specificattributes. The attributes represented can comprise any suitableattributes, including for example, a word, a price, a location, a time,a logo, an account number, biometrics, an image, or audio. For thisparticular example, a recognition signature can be generated in the formof a vector having four values, wherein the first value isrepresentative of an account holder's identity (e.g., driver's licensephoto, name, age, birthday, identification number, etc.), the secondvalue is representative of an item to be purchased (e.g., barcode, QRcode, image of product, etc.), the third value is representative of aCostco™ location, and the fourth value is representative of anauthorization (e.g., a motion, fingerprint scan, signature, voiceauthorization, etc.).

Contemplated attributes can comprise audio data (e.g., tone, pitch,bass, rhythm, melody, etc.), textual data (e.g., words, names,handwriting, etc.), imagery data (e.g., pixilation, SIFT features,symbols, etc.), video data, a gesture, a brightness, a location, or anyother suitable type of data.

Another technique for generating a recognition signature can be viarecognition of historical data related to one or more users. In someembodiments, the recognized data related to a user can be used torepresent a demographic. For example, a recognition signature generator4065 can be communicatively coupled to a user device and configured toacquire transaction data related to the user or device. Where a userinitiates a transaction via the user device, the recognition signaturegenerator can be configured to acquire data related to the transactionand generate a signature. It is also contemplated that a singlegenerated signature can be based on multiple transactions initiated viathe user device.

For example, a recognition signature generator 4065 can acquire dataindicating that a user device was inside of a Target™ when a user made apurchase utilizing her Target™ reward card, a Visa™ credit card for 50%of the purchase, and an American Express™ card for 50% of the purchase.Based on this data, the recognition signature generator 4065 cangenerate a signature related to Target™, the reward program, Visa™, andAmerican Express™. When this signature is used to query a reconciliationmatrix, alone or along with one or more other signatures, the signaturescan then be mapped to a purchasable item, a user's Target™ reward card,the user's Visa™ card, and the user's American Express™ card. Thus, oneshould appreciate that recognition signatures 4036 and 4037 can be apriori created, possibly by the user or a third party, or could bedynamically created through observation of the user.

It is contemplated that the specificity of a recognition signature canvary depending on the amount of historical data available. Where thereis not a sufficient amount of historical data available, a user or anaccount manager may be prompted to confirm or deny certain associations(e.g., between attribute and signature, between signature and account,etc.) prior to completion of a reconciled transaction.

A signature can be mapped to one or more accounts (e.g., 4040, 4050,4060, etc.) via a query of a reconciliation matrix 4023. Thereconciliation matrix or matrices 4023 can be utilized to map one ormore of the recognition signatures to one or more accounts.

As discussed above, a reconciliation matrix can comprise an algorithm, alookup table, or any other suitable rules set or data structure that canbe utilized in mapping a recognition signature to one or more accounts.

One example of such a matrix can comprise a hash function, which can mapa recognition signature to an account. It is contemplated that therecognition signature can be represented by a vector of attribute valuesand accounts can be represented by a vector of account numbers. Thereconciliation matrix can accept the vector of attribute values as inputand return the vector of account numbers as output. The mapping withinthe matrix operates as a function of a look up table, a mathematicalmatrix operation, or other mapping algorithm. Further, the vector ofaccount numbers could include weighting factors indicating what fractionof a transaction amount should be applied to each member account in thevector. Even further, the reconciliation matrix can include rules forresolving placement fractional amount of currency (e.g., a fraction of acent) among accounts.

Once a signature is mapped to one or more accounts utilizing areconciliation matrix 4023, the transaction reconciliation engine canreconcile the transaction amongst the accounts in a suitable manner,such as by (1) associating rewards points with the user's reward card,(2) transferring 50% of the item's purchase price from the user's Visa™card to a Target account, and (3) transferring 50% of the item'spurchase price from the user's American Express™ card to a Targetaccount.

FIG. 4C presents a method 4100 of causing a transaction to be reconciledvia a mobile device. A digital representation of a real-world object canbe obtained by a mobile device as shown in step 4110. It is contemplatedthat the digital representation can be obtained via a sensor of themobile device as suggested by step 4115, or a sensor of an externaldevice communicatively coupled to the object recognition engine ortransaction reconciliation engine.

Once obtained by the mobile device, the mobile device can transmit thedigital representation to an object recognition engine that isconfigured to recognize the real world object and derive one or moreobject attributes of the object as shown in step 4120. As previouslydiscussed, it is contemplated that the step of recognizing the realworld object and deriving one or more object attributes of the objectcan leverage one or more techniques disclosed in the following co-ownedapplications: U.S. provisional application No. 60/246,295 filed Nov. 6,2000; U.S. provisional application No. 60/317,521 filed Sep. 5, 2001;U.S. application Ser. No. 11/510,009 titled “Interactivity Via MobileImage Recognition” filed on Aug. 25, 2006; U.S. application Ser. No.12/505,726 titled “Interactivity with a Mixed Reality” filed on Jul. 20,2009; U.S. application Ser. No. 13/005,716 titled “Data Capture andIdentification System and Process” filed on Jan. 13, 2011; U.S.application Ser. No. 13/037,317 titled “Image Capture and IdentificationSystem and Process” filed on Feb. 28, 2011; and U.S. application Ser.No. 13/037,330 titled “Object Information Derived from Object Images”filed on Feb. 28, 2011. For example, the inventive subject matter canutilize one or more of the techniques for presenting information such asInternet content to a user described in U.S. application Ser. No.13/005,726.

The mobile device can then cause a transaction reconciliation engine toperform one or more actions as shown in steps 4130 through 4133. Forexample, the transaction reconciliation engine can be caused toassociate an object attribute with a recognition signature as shown instep 4131, map the signature to one or more accounts via areconciliation matrix as shown in step 4132, or reconcile a transactionrelated to an item associated with a real-world object among two or moreaccounts as shown in step 4133.

The transaction reconciliation engine can be installed on the mobiledevice itself, or can compose a separate device communicatively coupledto the mobile device. Among the actions that can be performed by thetransaction reconciliation include, for example, associating an objectattribute with a recognition signature, mapping a recognition signatureto one or more accounts via a reconciliation matrix stored therein, orreconciling a transaction related to an item associated with thereal-world object among a plurality of accounts.

Upon completion of a reconciled transaction, a notification associatedwith the reconciled transaction can be received by the mobile device assuggested by step 4140. It is contemplated that this notification can bereceived by the mobile device in any suitable format and manner,including for example, a push notification or an email.

Example Recognition Signature Use Cases

The following use cases provide various examples of some aspects of someembodiments of the inventive subject matter.

Magazine Subscription Use Case

A user and a magazine publisher engaging in a transaction can utilize asystem of the inventive subject matter to purchase/sell a magazinesubscription, and divide one or more payments from the user amongstvarious payees.

The user can capture a digital representation of an HGTV™ magazine via acamera enabled mobile device. The digital representation can be sent toan object recognition engine that is configured to recognize themagazine and derive attributes of the magazine. For example, the objectrecognition engine can derive the following attributes of the magazine:the publication date, the name of the magazine, the publisher name, datarelated to the cover photo (e.g., SIFT features, grayscale value, RGBvalue, identification of a celebrity in the image, brand name ofclothing worn by celebrity, etc.), headlines, price, promotions,coupons, publication period (e.g., weekly, biweekly, monthly, etc.), orany other suitable attributes. For purposes of this example, the derivedattributes can comprise (1) a Jan. 7, 2013 publication date, (2) JessicaAlba as the cover image, (3) a weekly publication period, (4) apromotional price of $1 per issue for 52 weeks, and (5) Visa™ andMasterCard™ as the accepted payment methods (collectively referred to as“Object Attributes”).

The derived object attributes can then be transmitted to a transactionreconciliation engine communicatively coupled with the objectrecognition engine. The transaction reconciliation engine can comprise amemory storing one or more reconciliation matrices, which can beutilized to map a recognition signature to one or more accounts.

The transaction reconciliation engine can be configured to associate anattribute or attributes (derived by the object recognition engine) witha recognition signature based on a partial match, best match, orcomplete match. One possible recognition signature (“Object Signature”)can comprise a price value of $1 per issue, and a publication periodvalue of weekly, and an accepted payment method value of AmericanExpress™ or debit card. If an association is set to occur based on apartial match or a best match, it is possible that the attributes of themagazine will be associated with this recognition signature. However, ifa complete match is required, the attributes of the magazine will not beassociated with this recognition signature.

It can generally be preferred that a complete match be required fortransactions where only one or a few recognition signature associationis required, but that a partial or best match can be required fortransactions where more recognition signature associations are required.As used herein, the term “best match” is used broadly to include, forexample, where an attribute or set of attributes derived is compared toa plurality of recognition signatures of a database, and the mostcommonality (requirements or optional conditions met) is found with oneof a few of the recognition signatures.

If an association is made between the Object Attributes and the ObjectSignature, the Object Signature, either alone or in combination withother recognition signatures, can be used to query a reconciliationmatrix. The process of querying a reconciliation matrix will bediscussed in further detail below.

One other possible recognition signature association that can berequired is an association between user or user device attributes and arecognition signature. For example, attributes associated with a user oruser device can be received by the transaction reconciliation engine viathe user device. These attributes can include, among other things,credit card account numbers used to make purchases via the device, namesassociated with the account numbers, types of items purchased using anaccount number, information related to a user of the device at or nearthe time a transaction is initiated (e.g., fingerprint data, voicerecognition, username, password, address, gesture, height, weight,etc.), or types of items purchased by the user. The foregoing user oruser device attributes can be associated with a recognition signature(“User or User Device Signature”) based on a partial, best or completematch. For purposes of this example, the user attribute can beassociated with a recognition signature related to user X (“User or UserDevice Attributes”).

If an association is made between the User or User Device Attributes andthe User or User Device Signature, the User or User Device Signature canbe used to query a reconciliation matrix, either alone or in conjunctionwith other recognition signatures.

Yet another possible recognition signature association that can berequired is an association between a payment division requirement and arecognition signature (“Payment Division Signature”). The attributesrelated to a payment division requirement can be obtained via thereal-world object itself, a payee entity associated with an item relatedto the real-world object, a third party, or any other suitable source.For example, it is contemplated that the attributes can be obtained viaHearst™ Corporation, a payee who would obtain a portion of a paymentrelated to a subscription of HGTV™ magazine. For purposes of thisexample, the payment division requirements can require that 50% of asubscription fee be paid to Hearst™ Corporation, while 50% of thesubscription fee be paid to the newsstand carrying the magazinephotographed (“Payment Division Requirement Attributes”), If anassociation is made between the Payment Division Requirement Attributesand the Payment Division Signature, the Payment Division Signature canbe used to query a reconciliation matrix, either alone or in conjunctionwith other recognition signatures.

Mapping Recognition Signature to Account

Assuming an association is made between the various attributes describedabove and the Object Signature, User or User Device Signature, andPayment Division Signature, it is contemplated that one, some, or all ofthe recognition signatures can be used to query a reconciliation matrix.

The reconciliation matrix can be utilized to map one or more of therecognition signatures to one or more accounts. In this example, thecombination of Object Signature, User or User Device Signature, andPayment Division Signature can be mapped to (1) User X's Visa™ debitcard, (2) a Hearst™ Corporation account, and (3) a newsstand's account.

The transaction reconciliation engine can be configured to reconcileUser X's subscription to HGTV™ magazine by transferring $0.50 from UserX's Visa™ debit card to each of the Hearst™ Corporation account and thenewsstand's account on a weekly basis until the subscription iscancelled.

The transaction reconciliation engine can reconcile some or all of theaccounts in real-time or over a period of time, and can be configured tohandle certain problems that may arise (e.g., an error in accounting, alack of funds, etc.). For example, where a payor's account hasinsufficient funds, a back-up payor account can be utilized in making apayment.

It is contemplated that User X can receive a notification of eachtransfer via her mobile device in any commercially suitable manner.

Additional Use Cases

The below use cases provide various examples of some aspects of someembodiments of the inventive subject matter.

Downloading Digital Files

A user and digital music provider can utilize a transaction system ofthe inventive subject matter to (1) download/permit download of adigital file, and (2) reconcile a transaction between a payor accountand one or more payee accounts.

For example, Alison, while listening to “Scream and Shout” by BritneySpears and Will.i.am, can cause her cell phone to receive audio datarelated to the song (e.g., via a mobile application such as Shazam™,etc.). This data is sent to an object recognition engine that derivesvarious attributes of the audio data including, for example, lyrics,tone, pitch, bass, types of instruments, speed, sound patterns, or anyother suitable attributes of audio data.

Once the object recognition engine derives one or more objectattributes, a transaction reconciliation engine coupled with the objectrecognition engine can associate one or more of the object attributeswith a recognition signature. For example, a lyric and a sound patterncan be associated with a signature having values representative of thelyric and the sound pattern. The transaction reconciliation engine canthen map the signature to (1) a payee account for Britney Spears for aroyalty payment, (2) a payee account for Will.i.am for a royaltypayment, (3) a song writer account for royalty payment, (4) a recordlabel payee account, and (5) an iTunes™ payee account. Alison can inputher credit card payment information, and the transaction reconciliationengine can reconcile the transaction by placing a percentage of thepayment from Alison's account to each of the payee accounts inaccordance with a set of rules.

Cable Subscription

As another example it is contemplated that a user can capture video datavia her cellular phone related to a television commercial for the HBO™show Game of Thrones™. The cellular phone can transmit the video data toan object recognition engine that recognizes the video data as beingrelated to Game of Thrones™ and derives attributes of the video data.

The object recognition engine can be coupled with a transactionreconciliation engine having a memory storing reconciliation matrices.The transaction reconciliation engine can associate the attributes witha recognition signature, map the signature to an HBO account, the user'scredit card account, the SAG, DGA or other guild accounts associatedwith talent in Game of Thrones™, and reconcile a subscription to HBO™between the relevant accounts.

Payment for Public Transportation

In yet another example, it is contemplated that a user wishing to ride abus, taxi, plane or other public transportation vehicle can purchase aticket or entrance by capturing an image of the vehicle or advertisementassociated with the vehicle. A system of the inventive subject mattercan then be used to distribute payment amongst the transportationcompany, taxes to the city, tips to drivers and other employees,beverage and food vendors, and any other parties associated with thetransaction.

Patient Care

In yet another example, a user can capture an image of a patient andpossibly CPT codes or other information, and use image data to reconcilea payment for a medical procedure amongst, among other things,healthcare providers, a patient account for co-payment, payment from aninsurance company, and a hospital.

Pre-Order

In yet another example, a user can pre-order or pre-purchase a videogame or other product by capturing digital data related to the game(e.g., an image of a game advertisement, audio data related to a gameadvertisement, etc.). It is contemplated that a payment can betemporally reconciled wherein a down-payment or a deposit can bereconciled immediately between a video game vendor, a user checkingaccount, and Electronic Arts™ (EA™) (the game developer), and that thefinal full payment can be further reconciled at a later time (e.g., uponpick-up or delivery, etc.).

Charitable Donations

It is also contemplated that a system of the inventive subject mattercould be used to reconcile a payment amongst a for-profit organizationand a non-profit organization. Oftentimes an establishment, such asStarbucks™ will promote that a percentage of a purchase of a pound ofcoffee or other good will be donated to a charitable organization. Usinga system of the inventive subject matter, a user can capture an image ofthe product, QR code, barcode or other item associated with the pound ofcoffee, and the purchase can be reconciled amongst, inter alia,Starbucks™ and the American Kidney Fund™.

It is further contemplated that the system can be configured to keeptrack of payments made from one or more user accounts to a charitableorganization for tax purposes. It is also contemplated that the systemcan generate a partial or complete report, such as a Form 1040, ScheduleA.

Rewards Programs

In yet another example, a system of the inventive subject matter can beused to reconcile a transaction with a rewards program account (e.g., afrequent flyer miles program, restaurant rewards program, etc.). Forexample, it is contemplated that a user's Visa™ card can be associatedwith an American Airlines™ frequent flyer miles program. Whenever theuser utilizes the transaction system to make a purchase or othertransaction, it is contemplated that the transaction can be reconciledbetween the user's Visa™ card (debit), the American Airlines™ frequentflyer miles program (points credit), and the vendor(s)' accounts(monetary credit). It is contemplated that when the system is used topurchase an airline ticket on American Airlines™, additional points canbe credited to the American Airlines™ frequent flyer miles program.

Gamification

In yet another example, a system of the inventive subject matter can beused for gamification. When a user plays a video game in conjunctionwith the transaction system, the user can be awarded points, achievementbadges, virtual currency, etc., based on derived attributes and areconciliation matrix. For example, the object recognition engine canrecognize that a level was completed on a video game. The objectrecognition engine can derive object attributes associated with thecompleted level, and a transaction reconciliation engine can associatethe attribute(s) with a recognition signature, map the signature to oneor more accounts via a reconciliation matrix, and reconcile atransaction (e.g., award a badge, etc.) amongst the user's gamingaccount and the game's leader board.

Tolls

Yet another use case can include using a recognition engine to recognizevehicles on a toll road. The recognition engine use object attributesassociated with a vehicle (e.g., make, model, color, location, time,license plate, etc.) for several purposes. First, the object attributesin general can be used to identify or verify that the vehicle isproperly authorized to utilize the toll road. For example, the engine,or transaction system, can compare the make and model of the vehicleagainst DMV records associated with the license plate to ensure thevehicle or plates are not stolen. Second, the object attributes can beused to determine which accounts could be charged for use of the tollroad. Consider a scenario where the salesman utilizes his personalvehicle. The salesman could have multiple accounts that should becharged in exchange for using the toll road. During working hours (e.g.,based on a GPS location or time of day), a corporate account might becharged. During weekends, a personal account might be charged. Further,possibly based on an employee agreement, both accounts might be charged(e.g., 75% corporate and 25% personal during working hours).

Rights Management

In view that the disclosed system is capable of reconciling multipleaccounts and can be leveraged with respect to purchasing or otherwiseinteracting with digital media, the disclosed system can be used toprovide payment to rights holders associated with digital media.Consider a scenario where individual seeks to obtain content associatedwith a movie poster, or possibly a poster of sports team (e.g., the LALakers®). The person can capture an image of the poster and the systemcan return a selection of multimedia content bound or linked to theposter. Should the person decided to purchase the content, thetransaction system can select one or more reconciliation matrices basedon derived attributes from the image of the poster, or even based onuser selection. The reconciliation matrices can then be used to identifyaccounts for all rights holders associated with the content: actors,producers, owners, distributers, publishers, artists, or otherindividuals associated with the content. When the transaction takesplace, each account can be credited according to one or more businessrules determined form the reconciliation matrix.

Additional Concepts

One should also note that the inventive subject matter is alsoconsidered to include the additional concepts presented below.

Methods of Reconciling a Payment of a Coupon

Some aspects of the inventive subject matter can include a method ofreconciling a payment of a coupon, as shown in FIG. 5. Such methods cancomprise recognizing a real world object related to a purchasable itemvia a recognition engine. In some embodiments a virtual coupon can becreated based on attributes derived from a digital representation of thereal world object recognized via a recognition engine. The virtualcoupon can then be activated via an event that is triggered from amobile device. Moreover, a transaction amongst multiple electronicaccounts associated with the object can be reconciled as a function ofthe derived attributes and the virtual coupon.

TABLE 1 Proposed Method of Reconciling a Payment of a Coupon ClaimsNumber Claim 1 A method of reconciling payment of a coupon, the methodcomprising: recognizing, by a recognition engine, a real-world objectrelated to a purchasable item (as suggested by step 510); creating avirtual coupon based on attributes derived from a digital representationof the real-world object (as suggested by step 520); activating thevirtual coupon via a event triggered from a consumer mobile device (assuggested by step 530); and reconciling a transaction among multipleelectronic accounts associated with the real world object as a functionof the derived attributes and the virtual coupon by accounts (assuggested by step 540). 2 The method of claim 1, wherein the attributesinclude a time (as suggested by step 516). 3 The method of claim 1,wherein the attributes include a location (as suggested by step 516). 4The method of claim 1, wherein the attributes compose a vector of atleast three dimensions of relevance (as suggested by step 515). 5 Themethod of claim 4, wherein the attributes compose a vector of at leastsix dimensions of relevance (as suggested by step 515). 6 The method ofclaim 5, wherein the vector comprises the following dimensions: a time,a place, and three dimensions of the real-world object. 7 The method ofclaim 5, wherein the vector is unique to the transaction. 8 The methodof claim 1 wherein the event occurs automatically based on ambient data.9 The method of claim 1, wherein the event includes a user generatedevent on the mobile device. 10 The method of claim 1, wherein the stepof reconciling the transaction includes authenticating the transactionvia the mobile device, wherein the mobile device is emitting atransaction signal (as suggested by step 545). 11 The method of claim10, wherein the transaction signal is unique to the transaction. 12 Themethod of claim 10, wherein the transaction signal comprises a visualdisplay. 13 The method of claim 10, wherein the transaction signalcomprises a non-visual signal. 14 The method of claim 13, wherein thetransaction signal at least one of the following: an RF signal, anaudible sound, an ultrasound, a dynamic RFID value, and a light-basedsignal outside the visual spectrum. 15 The method of claim 10, whereinthe step of reconciling the transaction includes reconciling payment forthe item and the coupon on a periodical bill (as suggested by step 546).16 The method of claim 15, wherein the periodical bill is associatedwith at least one of the following: a user, a coupon provider, a vendor,a cell phone carrier, a subscription, a bank, and a third-partyexchange. 17 The method of claim 15, wherein the periodical billcomprises a periodicity of on of the following: weekly, bi-weekly,monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, and annually. 18 The method of claim1, wherein the step of reconciling the transaction includes crediting auser account associated with a service provider (as suggested by step547). 19 The method of claim 1, wherein the step of reconciling thetransaction includes issuing a check to a consumer (as suggested by step548). 20 A method of redeeming a coupon, the method comprising:obtaining, via a camera enabled device, a digital representation of areal-world object related to a purchasable item; transmitting thedigital representation to a reconciliation engine; obtaining a virtualcoupon generated based on attributes of the digital representation; andtriggering an activation of the virtual coupon via the mobile device.

Transaction Apparatus

In some embodiments of the inventive subject matter, a transactionapparatus is provided, as shown in FIG. 6. The transaction apparatus cancomprise a sensor interface, recognition module, and a virtual coupongenerator, among other things. The sensor interface can be configured toacquire a digital representation of a real world object. The recognitionmodule can be coupled with the sensor interface and configured to deriveobject attributes from the digital representation. The recognitionmodule can then identify a purchasable item as a function of the objectattributes. The virtual coupon generator can be coupled with therecognition module and configured to generate a virtual couponassociated with the purchasable item as a function of the objectattributes. The transaction apparatus can further comprise a transactioninterface that is configured to reconcile an account based on a paymentfor the purchasable item and use of the virtual coupon.

TABLE 2 Proposed Transaction Apparatus Claims Number Claim 1 Atransaction apparatus 600 comprising: a sensor interface 610 configuredto acquire a digital representation of a real-world object; arecognition module 620 coupled with the sensor interface and configuredto derive object attributes from the digital representation and toidentify a purchasable item as a function of the object attributes; avirtual coupon generator 630 coupled with the recognition module andconfigured to generate a virtual coupon associated with the purchasableitem as a function of the object attributes; and a transaction interface640 configured to reconcile an account (e.g., 660, 661, or 662) based ona payment for the purchasable item and use of the virtual coupon. 2 Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the digital representation comprises adigital representation 605 of a scene. 3 The apparatus of claim 2,wherein the recognition module is further configured to map the objectattributes to an a priori known context. 4 The apparatus of claim 3,wherein the virtual coupon generator is further configured to generatethe coupon as a function of the context. 5 The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the digital representation comprises a representation ofnon-visible properties of the real-world object. 6 The apparatus ofclaim 5, wherein the non-visible properties of the real-world objectcomprises at least one of the following: a sound, a texture, a taste, asmell, light out side the visible spectrum, a radio signal, a heatsignal, an emotional state, and a non-visible bio-metric. 7 Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the digital representation comprises arepresentation of visible properties of the real-world object. 8 Theapparatus of claim 7, wherein the visible properties of the real- worldobject comprises at least one of the following: a printed text, aprinted image, an electronically displayed image, a reflection, arendering, a three dimensional model or image, a time varyingappearance, a projection, and an light signal from the object. 9 Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the virtual coupon comprises a promotion.10 The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the promotion comprises at leastone of the following: an advertisement, a sale, and a subsidy. 11 Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the virtual coupon is unique to a user ofthe transaction apparatus. 12 The apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising a mobile device 650 comprising the sensor interface, therecognition module, and the transaction interface. 13 The apparatus ofclaim 12, wherein the mobile device comprises at least one of thefollowing: a mobile phone, a computer, a vehicle, a mobile kiosk, and aspacecraft. 14 The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the object attributesinclude features derived according to at least one of the following:vSLAM, VIPR, GPS, or SIFT. 15 The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theobject attributes include a location and a time. 16 The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the real-world object comprises a printed object. 17The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the real-world object comprises anon-printed object. 18 The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the purchasableitem comprises at least one of the following: a good, a product, and aservice. 19 The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an objectdatabase 660 storing target objects and coupled with the recognitionmodule, the target objects having target object attributes. 20 Theapparatus of claim 19, wherein the recognition module is furtherconfigured to identify the purchasable item by obtaining a target objectfrom the target object database by comparing the object attributes tothe target object attributes. 21 The apparatus of claim 19, wherein therecognition module is further configured to obtain at least a portion ofthe object database from a remote source over a communication connectionas a function of the object attributes. 22 The apparatus of claim 21,wherein the recognition module is configured to obtain the at least aportion of the object database based on location and time attributes. 23The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the location and time attributes areassociated with the transaction device. 24 The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the transaction device comprises at least one of the following:a cell phone, a kiosk, a point-of-sales device, and an on-line accountserver. 25 The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the account comprises atleast one of the following: a user account, a cell carrier account, acoupon provider account, a vendor, and a service provider account. 26The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the account comprises an inventory oftransactions associated with a user of the transaction apparatus. 27 Amobile device comprising: a sensor interface configured to acquire adigital representation of a real-world object; a recognition modulecoupled with the sensor interface and configured to derive objectattributes from the digital representation, including a location andtime, and to identify a purchasable item as a function of the objectattributes, including the location and time; a virtual coupon generatorcoupled with the recognition module and configured to generate a virtualcoupon associated with the purchasable item as a function of the objectattributes; and a transaction interface configured to reconcile at leastone account based on a payment for the purchasable item and use of thevirtual coupon, where a user account is credited in response to paymentfrom the purchasable item and use of the virtual coupon. 28 A method ofusing a virtual coupon via a transaction apparatus, comprising:acquiring, via a sensor interface of the apparatus, a digitalrepresentation of a real world object; obtaining a virtual couponassociated with a purchasable item and generated by a virtual coupongenerator as a function of object attributes derived by a recognitionmodule; and utilizing the virtual coupon and initiating a payment forthe purchasable item.

Method of Mitigating Risk of Transaction Fraud

Some aspects of the inventive subject matter can include a method ofmitigating risk of transaction fraud, as shown in FIG. 7. Such methodscan comprise providing a virtual coupon associated with a purchasableitem on a mobile device. The mobile device can then engage in anelectronic transaction related to the purchasable item and the virtualcoupon. A user can select a target account from a plurality of availableuser accounts (e.g., via the mobile device, etc.). the electronictransaction can be authenticated as a function of transaction attributesderived by the mobile device and the user selected target account(s).Moreover, the target account can be credited (e.g., with rewards points,discounts, coupons, a reduction in balance, etc.) according to terms ofthe virtual coupon.

TABLE 3 Proposed Method of Mitigating Risk of Transaction Fraud ClaimsNumber Claim 1 A method of mitigating risk of transaction fraud,comprising: providing a virtual coupon on a mobile device, the virtualcoupon associated with a purchasable item (as suggested by step 710);engaging, via the mobile device, in an electronic transaction related tothe purchasable item and the virtual coupon (as suggested by step 720);allowing a user to select a target account from a plurality of availableuser accounts accessible electronically (as suggested by step 730);authenticating the transaction as a function of transaction attributesderived by the mobile device and the user selected target account (assuggested by step 740); and crediting the target account according toterms of the virtual coupon (as suggested by step 750). 2 The method ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of accounts comprises multiple loyaltyaccounts, each associated with a distinct entity. 3 The method of claim2, wherein the loyalty account comprise at least one of the following: afrequent flyer account, a credit card account, a bank account, a virtualworld account, a game account, and a subscription account. 4 The methodof claim 1, wherein the target account is managed by a third partyunaffiliated with the purchasable item. 5 The method of claim 1, whereinthe transaction attributes comprise virtual coupon attributes associatedwith the virtual coupon. 6 The method of claim 5, wherein the virtualcoupon comprises authentication criteria that depend to the virtualcoupon attributes and the transaction attributes. 7 The method of claim6, wherein the authentication criteria depend on at least one of thefollowing: a location, a time, a context, a user identifier, a vendoridentifier, an item identifier, and a real-world object attribute. 8 Themethod of claim 1, further comprising providing access to the mobiledevice to the user and wherein the mobile device conducts the steps ofallowing the user to select the target account, authenticating thetransaction, and crediting the target account (as suggested by step735). 9 The method of claim 1, further comprising updating a couponinventory with an amount credited to the target account (as suggested bystep 770). 10 The method of claim 1, further comprising completing thetransaction by reconciling payment between the target account and atleast one other account (as suggested by step 780). 11 The method ofclaim 10, wherein the step of reconciling the payment includessubmitting less than full payment to the at least one other accountaccording to terms of the virtual coupon. 12 The method of claim 10,wherein the step of reconciling the payment includes receiving fullpayment from a user account. 13 The method of claim 10, wherein the stepof reconciling the payment includes crediting the selected targetaccount, wherein the target account comprises a subscription account. 14The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing the virtual couponincludes displaying a coupon overlay on an image of the purchasable itemon a display of the mobile device (as suggested by step 715). 15 Themethod of claim 1, further comprising using the mobile device to deriveobject attributes of an object with a field of view of a sensorassociated with the mobile device (as suggested by step 790). 16 Themethod of claim 15, further comprising the mobile device deriving thetransaction attributes from the object attributes. 17 The method ofclaim 15, further comprising the mobile device identifying thepurchasable item as a function of the object attributes. 18 The methodof claim 15, further comprising constructing the field of view based onaggregating sensor data obtained while changing an orientation orposition of the mobile device (as suggested by step 795). 19 The methodof claim 18, wherein the step of aggregating the sensor data occurs inreal-time as the mobile device is moved. 20 The method of claim 1,wherein the steps of engaging in the transaction requires no more thantwo user interface actions by the user. 21 The method of claim 20,wherein the steps of engaging in the transaction requires no more thanone user interface actions by the user. 22 The method of claim 21,wherein the steps of engaging in the transaction occurs automaticallyvia the user moving the mobile device. 23 A method of mitigating risk oftransaction fraud, comprising: obtaining a virtual coupon on a mobiledevice, the virtual coupon associated with a purchasable item; engaging,via the mobile device, in an electronic transaction related to thepurchasable item and the virtual coupon; and selecting a target accountfrom a plurality of available user accounts accessible electronically;and providing an input that allows an authentication of the transactionas a function of transaction attributes derived by the mobile device andthe user selected target account.

It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that many moremodifications besides those already described are possible withoutdeparting from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subjectmatter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the scope of theappended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification andthe claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possiblemanner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises”and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements,components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that thereferenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized,or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are notexpressly referenced. Where the specification claims refers to at leastone of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C . . . andN, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from thegroup, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc.

What is claimed is:
 1. A transaction system, comprising: an objectrecognition engine configured to recognize a real-world object andderive a first object attribute of the object; and a transactionreconciliation engine coupled with the object recognition engine andcomprising a memory storing a reconciliation matrix, the transactionreconciliation engine configured to: associate the first objectattribute with a first recognition signature; map the first recognitionsignature to a first account and a second account via the reconciliationmatrix, wherein the first account and the second account are associatedwith entities that provide an item associated with the real-worldobject; and reconcile a transaction related to providing the itemassociated with the real-world object among the first account and thesecond account, wherein the reconciling comprises distributing at leasta first portion of a payment to the first account based on a proportionof the transaction attributed to an entity associated with the firstaccount and a second portion of the payment to the second account basedon a proportion of the transaction attributed to an entity associatedwith the second account.
 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising asignature database communicatively coupled to the memory, and storing aplurality of recognition signatures.
 3. The system of claim 1, whereinthe first object attribute comprises an absolute time.
 4. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the first object attribute comprises a relative time.5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first object attribute comprises aresponse time.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first objectattribute comprises a location.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein thefirst object attribute comprises a relative position or orientation. 8.The system of claim 1, wherein the transaction system comprises asubscription service.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the itemincludes a good.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the item includes aproduct.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the item includes a service.12. The system of claim 11, wherein the service comprises at least oneof the following: a subscription, a utility, a reservation, and a game.13. The system of claim 1, wherein the item comprises a couponassociated with the real-world object.
 14. The system of claim 13,wherein the coupon comprises a virtual coupon.
 15. The system of claim1, wherein the transaction includes reconciling a coupon among at leastone of the following: a service provider account associated with thetransaction and a user account.
 16. The system of claim 1, wherein thereal-world object comprises an image of a good or service.
 17. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein the image of the good or service includes atleast one of the following: an image of printed media, an image ofnon-printed media, an image of an animated object, and an image of aninanimate object.
 18. The system of claim 1, wherein the derived firstobject attribute is derived from non-visible data.
 19. The system ofclaim 18, wherein the non-visible data comprises a digitalrepresentation of at least one of the following: a sound, a texture, atouch, a sensed emotion, a taste, and a smell.
 20. The system of claim1, further comprising an engagement engine coupled with the recognitionengine and the transaction engine, and configured to cause a computingdevice to take action as a function of the transaction.
 21. The systemof claim 20, wherein the computing device includes at least one of thefollowing: a mobile phone, a gaming device, a local or remote server, ageneral purpose computer, an appliance, an electronic device, and aset-top box.
 22. The system of claim 1, wherein the transaction requiresno more than three physical interactions between an end user and amobile device engaging the transaction system.
 23. The system of claim22, wherein the transaction requires no more than two physicalinteractions.
 24. The system of claim 23, wherein the transaction occursautomatically based on a real-time automatic ambient collection ofsensor data forming a digital representation of the real-world objectwithout requiring the end user to initiate the transaction.
 25. A methodof initiating a transaction via a mobile device, comprising: obtaining,by the mobile device, a digital representation of a real-world objectvia a sensor of the mobile device; transmitting, by the mobile device,the digital representation to an object recognition engine configured torecognize the real world object and derive a first object attribute ofthe object; causing, by the mobile device, a transaction reconciliationengine to: associate the first object attribute with a first recognitionsignature; map the first recognition signature to a first account and asecond account via a reconciliation matrix, wherein the first accountand the second account are associated with entities that provide an itemassociated with the real-world object; and reconcile a transaction thatis related to providing the item associated with the real-world objectamong the first account and the second account, wherein the reconcilingcomprises distributing at least a first portion of a payment to thefirst account based on a proportion of the transaction attributed to anentity associated with the first account and a second portion of thepayment to the second account based on a proportion of the transactionattributed to an entity associated with the second account; andreceiving, by the mobile device, a notification associated with thereconciled transaction.
 26. The method of claim 25, further comprisingthe step of installing the transaction reconciliation engine in themobile device.